The Substitute
by PhantomSnape01
Summary: Hermione meets Harry's new lover, the younger brother of his late lover Prof. Severus Snape, Nicholi Snape. Higher ratings in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

She had become a media witch after the war because she had helped as a nurse during the war. It was a very fulfilling job most of the time. Dr. Granger also had a ring to it that she liked. She glanced at the picture on her desk; it was of her and her two best friends. They were all laughing and goofing off. She was still dating Ron and she was hoping the red head would go on and pop the question, but that didn't seem to be happening anytime soon. Their other friend, Harry, was busy being an Auror. She had a suspension that he was seeing someone, but he wouldn't tell her anything. She closed her eyes and sighed.

There was a hurried knock on her office door. She looked up and took another deep breath.

"Come in.," she answered. The door opened and a nurse entered.

"There is a man asking for you. He says it's urgent." The nurse explained.

"Did you get his name?" Hermione asked, following her to the ER. The nurse shook her head.

"There he is." She said gesturing to the man sitting in the waiting room. He stood up when he saw her and rushed to her.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, when she recognized him.

"I need your help, Hermione, please. He's so sick." He replied pulling her toward one of the exam rooms.

"Who, Harry?" she asked following after him. He pulled back the curtain to the room.

There was a man lying on the bed. He was pale and curled up in a ball in the middle of the bed. He was also sweating and seemed to be shaking. He also seemed to be sleeping.

"Nicholi?" Harry said shaking the man slightly. His eyes opened and he searched the room.

"This is my friend, Hermione. She's the media witch I told you about. She's going to try to help you." Harry explained. She noticed that her friend was speaking very slowly and articulating every word. The man nodded and looked at her. His eyes were dilated and glazed over with fever. She walked over and smiled weakly.

"Hello, Mr.?" she started.

"Nicholi Snape." Harry informed her. She looked at him startled and confused.

"I'll explain later. Please, help him first." He replied. She nodded and took a deep breath.

"Mr. Snape, how long have you been feeling like this?" she asked turning her attention to the man on the bed. As she looked at him, she saw quite a few resemblances between him and their late professor. They had the same pitch-black hair and the same dark, ebony colored eyes. But Nicholi's nose wasn't as pronounced and he wasn't as thin. He opened his mouth to answer but he started to cough instead.

"A couple of days. We thought it was just a cold." Harry answered for him. She glanced back at her friend and then back at the patient. She checked his pulse and all his vitals. His breathing was labored and his lungs sounded congested.

"It might be phenomena." She muttered.

"Could it be from a potion? He's a potion master for the Ministry." Harry asked. Hermione was once again taken back. She had so many questions to ask her best friend after this.

"I don't think so. There's no rash or other symptoms concluding to a potions side effect." She answered. The man moaned and started coughing again.

"Harry?" he whimpered, starting to squirm.

"I'm right here, Nicholi. Everything is going to be okay." Harry said, kneeling down in front of him. He reached up and stroked the man's hair and tried to soothe him.

"I'm going to admit him and start him on some antibiotic potions. " Hermione explained. Harry nodded and smiled at her.

"Thank you." He said. She nodded and walked to the nurses' station. She went back to her office and looked up the man's file. All wizards and witches have files at St. Mungo's. She looked through it until she came across something interesting.

"He's partially deaf?" she asked as she walked into the hospital room. Harry was sitting in the chair beside the bed, holding the other man's hand. Nicholi was sleeping soundly and didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon.

"Yes, since he was five." Harry replied, rubbing his eyes and leaning back in the chair.

"How bad?" she asked sitting down in the other chair.

"He says it sounds as if he is underwater and at the end of a tunnel, all at the same time." He replied.

"He uses sign language?" she continued.

"Yes, and he can also read lips." He nodded. There was an awkward silence between them.

"I was going to introduce you to him, when I was ready," Harry finally said, " I wasn't hiding him." Hermione nodded.

"Is he the professor's son, brother, cousin?" she asked.

"Younger brother, by thirteen years." Was the reply.

"I know he's not Severus, Hermione. I do not need to be reminded that he is not Severus." Harry interrupted her before she could say anything else.

"Does he know that?" she asked, gesturing to the sleeping man.

"Know what?" Harry said.

"That he's just a substitute." She answered. Harry shook his head and turned to look at the other man.

"He is not Severus. He is nothing like Severus, trust me." He muttered a few minutes.

"Harry?" Nicholi whimpered starting to wake up. Harry turned his attention to the other man.

"You are alright, Nicholi." He said, combing his fingers through the sick man's hair. The man started to cry and squirm.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, trying to keep the man's attention. Hermione stood up and tried to help.

"He can't focus because of the potions. They make his vision blurred." She explained.

"That means we can't communicate with him. We can't tell him what is going on." Harry started to panic.

"Calm down. The last thing we need is you freaking out. He's going to be fine. He's already going back to sleep." She said as the older man started drifting off into unconsciousness.

They both relaxed when the man was fully back asleep. Harry leaned back in his chair and combed his fingers through his hair.

"Don't tell me what I'm doing is wrong, please. I need him and he needs me. That is all there is." He muttered.

"How did you meet?" she asked after a few minutes. She saw Harry smile for the first time in a long time.

"It was business. The Minister actually introduced us. Nicholi is the head of the potions department. He had been working on a new truth potion and he needed test subjects." Harry explained.

"How long?" was the next question.

"Three months, but we just started sleeping together." He answered. Hermione blushed and brushed a piece of loose hair out of her face.

"Does Ron know?" she asked.

"You didn't know and you know I'm gay. Ron doesn't even know that," Harry replied, "He still expects me to marry Ginny." Hermione chuckled softly and leaned back in her chair.

"Don't you have other patients?" he asked glancing at the clock. She shook her head.

"No, I'm off. I thought I would spend sometime with you since we haven't had much time together." She answered. He smiled and nodded. She saw him subconsciously reach over and caress the other man's hand.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry had fallen asleep after Hermione had left and there were no disturbances the rest of the night. He woke up to his hand being squeezed and he slowly opened his eyes, taking moment to remember where he was. Nicholi was watching him intently, his eyes were the clearest they had been in days. But Harry could still see fever and tiredness in them.

"Feeling better?" he asked speaking slowly and also signing. The sick man nodded and relaxed back against the pillows.

"When did your friend leave?" he asked. His voice was hoarse but clear. It didn't sound like most other deaf people since he had already known how to speak before he had lost his hearing.

"Last night, she'll be back to check on you today, probably." Harry replied reaching up and touching the other man's cheek. His skin was still hot with fever.

"She didn't know about me." This time Nicholi signed it instead of speaking. It must have been less strenuous to sign. Harry hesitated remembering the conversation he had had the night prior with his best friend.

"I was going to introduce you soon when the time was right." Harry replied. He always spoke out loud and signed when he talked to Nicholi. It felt weird to just sign. There was a heavy silence before Nicholi started coughing. It took him minute to catch his breath and Harry was ready with a glass of water.

"Thank you." He signed laying back against the pillows. Harry straightened the blanket on the bed and then leaned back in his chair. His entire body was sore from sleeping in the chair and he still felt so tired.

"Go home and get some rest. I'm not going anywhere." Nicholi stated out loud. He had closed his eyes and seemed to be drifting back off to sleep, which gave Harry no room to argue.

"I'll go get freshened up and get a couple of things and then I'll be back, alright?" he said standing up and leaning over to kiss Nicholi on the forehead. He knew Nicholi didn't hear him. The older man smiled and snuggled deeper into the hospital bed.

He closed the door behind him and stopped by the nurses' station to tell them he was leaving and where he could be reached if there was a problem. He felt so guilty leaving his lover in the Wizard hospital alone but it had been the other man's suggestion, so Harry brushed it off. He walked down the street at a slow pace watching the world pass him by. He had never become a fan of apparition. He preferred to walk or ride everywhere. When he finally got to his flat he collapsed on the couch and slept harder then he had ever slept in his life.

Nicholi woke up abruptly for no apparent reason then he felt as if he wasn't alone and he was right. Harry's friend Dr. Granger was standing beside his bedside, reading his chart.

"Good morning, Dr." he said rubbing his eyes. He must have startled her because she flinched and then smiled at him weakly.

"I can read lips quite well so we can communicate." He added because she seemed at loss for words. She smiled again and brushed a piece of hair out of her face.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked making sure to speak slowly and to articulate.

"Much better, thank you. I still feel weak and congested though." He replied. She nodded and wrote that down on the chart.

"I bet there are several other questions you would like to ask not pertaining to my health." He said, moving to be more comfortable. He saw her tense up and he knew that had made her uncomfortable.

"You had better ask them down before Harry returns." He added. She pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down.

"I actually have just one question." She muttered, sitting on the edge of the chair.

"You want to know if I know about Harry and my brother." Nicholi interrupted her. She had a look of shock on her face and then she nodded slowly.

"Yes, Dr. Granger, I do. Severus and I were very close before he died. He told me everything, every secret, every fear. I believe I knew that he loved Harry before he did." he explained.

"So you must know that Harry-" she started.

"Is using me as a substitute to my brother. I knew that from the very beginning," he interrupted her again, " but I'm alright with that."

"How can you be alright with that? She asked again.

"Answer me this, Dr. Would you rather play second violin or not play in the orchestra at all?" he asked.


End file.
